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A certain preacher whose sermons converted many souls received a revelation from God that it was not his sermons or works by all means but the prayers of an illiterate lay brother who sat on the pulpit steps pleading for the success of the sermon. It may be in the all-revealing day so with us. We may believe after laboring long and wearily that all honor belongs to another builder whose prayers were gold, silver, and precious stones, while our sermonizings being apart from prayer are but hay and stubble.

just wanted to drop a quick note. my friend was searching for a hymn and in the hymn book she saw a hymn named “manchester” (my last name). so she looked at it and decided to email it to me. it is so the progressive calling of my life. so for your reading pleasure, here are the words to “I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go” (the alternative name for the song):

It may not be on the mountain’s height
Or over the stormy seas
It may not be at the battles front
My Lord will have need of me
But if by a still small voice
He calls to paths I do not know
I’ll answer dear Lord, with my hand in Thine
I’ll go where you want me to go

Perhaps today there are loving words
Which Jesus would have me speak
There may be now, in the paths of sin
Some wand’rer whom I should seek
O Saviour if Thou wilt be my guide
Tho’ dark and rugged the way
My voice shall echo the message sweet
I’ll say what you want me to say

There’s surely somewhere a lowly place
In earths harvest fields so wide
Where I may labor thro’ life’s short day
For Jesus the crucified
So, trusting my all unto thy care
I know thou lovest me
I’ll do Thy will with a heart sincere
I’ll be what you want me to be

I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord
O’er mountain or plain or sea
I’ll say what You want me to say , dear Lord
I’ll be what you want me to be

do you find the progression from doing to speaking to being difficult? what is your favorite hymn?

I’m beginning to think that what any given situation can teach you depends largely on the person experiencing the situation and very little on the experience itself. Put another way, there’s a great difference between 50 years of experience and 1 years worth of experience repeated 50 times.

Another reason why some can feel “informed” when in fact they are not is that they have lost the hunger to learn. They’ve lost the desire to learn and grow.

Closely related to the lack of desire to learn is the desire to avoid being wrong. So much in school is focused on being right, knowing the right answer to a test or the correct proof or solution. In sports, no one likes to lose. Everyone likes a winner! But this desire can work into our minds in a limiting way. At work I would say, “We don’t fail half as much as we need to.” I still think this way, but now I’ve found a new reason: Failing keeps our mental muscles and joints from stiffing with pride and forming into the arthritis of the mind.

Life does not reward us for effort expended. Finishing is required. (my favorite)

[to keep moving forward]…is not always easy. Sometimes I would come home from work so frustrated with how slow things were going and how little progress was being made, I’d tell my wife I just needed some time alone to cool down. I’d go into my room, open my laptop and write a blog post. I’d post it and point to it while saying to my wife, “There, I did it. I produced something today! It may not be much, but at least I produced something tangible!” You’ve got to keep in the habit of producing or finishing. You can’t let those muscles atrophy.

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.

My Dad would say, “Experience is always in the first person,” meaning that it’s a good idea to learn from others, but most of the time we don’t.

Most leaders say, “You need to do this… You need to change… Good luck! See you later.” Instead of, “You can change. I can help.” (ow, that hurt me.)

It’s important to setup an environment that balances building the person and getting the job done. (hmm…sounds like this post i wrote)

if i have to pick one post that i like the best, it would have to be the one about “thoughts about change” from his dad. i encourage you to check out his blog and read some of the posts. he used to be a programmer for microsoft (he quit january 08) so many of his stories are about his job and “tech” stuff…but the principles are great!

1. Pick your battles, pick the battleground. Let the Holy Spirit lead you in this. (I got this rule from studying natural warfare and reading about Lee’s mistake in not choosing the battleground at Gettysburg).

2. He who studies evil is studied by evil. Spock quote. I never study or give myself to too much study of the the spirit or principality. If I know God I will know my enemy and the Holy Spirit teaches all things.

3. Never beam down to the planet when staying on the ship is an option. I never want to intervene in a situation unless expressly told to by the Holy Spirit.

although i am not a die-hard star trek fan, i thought his star trek example (later on in the post) was priceless. good job tim!

i honestly believe that this is 90% of what someone must know regarding spiritual warfare. there are other things to know, but many times we simply do not communicate with God and follow Him where He leads. many times we are found trying to pick a fight…and we wonder why we lose or experience a lot of “backlash”.

what did you think of the post? what other things have you learned regarding spiritual warfare? how often does God take care of the issue without involving you?

that pretty much sums it up. all the others reason are great too. check it out!

are there other reasons you should stuy the end times? what did you think about the article? are the reasons given enough to justify a deep lifelong study of the end times? is it really for everyone or a select few?

So often, despite all our nice-sounding language, we still want to approach God having something to give Him, something to show Him, or something with which to impress Him. We often feel shame over our small beginnings, our weak little areas where we have said yes to God but have not made much progress. Maybe it’s been a few weeks, maybe it’s been a few years, but we look at what we’ve got… and then we look at where we want to be… then we look at where we’ve been, and it doesn’t seem that far away… Our well-meaning, but misdirected intentions render us discouraged of our journey and embarrassed to go before God about it.

But our God is amazingly generous and kind. He is not wanting a stellar performance. He just wants us to pick up the “plumb line” and go for it. His eyes scan the entire earth looking for people who will just do that much. He’s looking for people to delight in. He’s looking for small beginnings to bless. He isn’t waiting with folded arms for us to get our act together. He’s cheering us on. He’s behind us. He’s supporting us. He’s giving us extravagant favor. His heart is for us.

great article explaining the context of zechariah 4 (something i never hear taught). really motivated me to see and rejoice about my life and “yes”es like God does.

what did you think of the article? what “small beginnings” are in your life that get you discouraged? do you rejoice about your life like God does?

Hey, Think about this: what kind of difference would it make if you knew and believed that who you are (your heart essentially) is good and not evil?

it’s a great question and i’m really excited to see what people think. i encourage you to check out her blog and throw in your thoughts about it. you can also read mine. here is a summary:

i believe that (what i call) “the redemption of the heart” (the heart becoming naturally good instead naturally evil) CAN happen…but it doesn’t happen automatically. (like steph says) there IS a hole in our heart that only God can fill…but that is not our WHOLE heart. just like Jesus is invited in our whole life…that doesn’t mean He is ruling and has control over our whole life.

it’s a journey and progression, learning how to let Jesus take FULL control of our WHOLE heart. when He does, He fills us with “all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (eph 4:2…the next verse after the eph 3 prayer).

when we get to THAT point…i think then we can start trusting our hearts…cause the WHOLE of our hearts are filled with God…not just a part.

what do you think about this answer? what are your thoughts about “the redemption of the heart”?